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August 30, 2003
A breakthrough for public health
Poor Nations Can Purchase Cheap Drugs Under Accord
The World Trade Organization agreed today to give poor nations greater access to inexpensive life-saving medicine by altering international trade rules.
After several days of nonstop negotiations and speeches, the trade organization reached unanimous agreement this morning, just as its meeting was concluding, after speeches by several African delegates who said such an agreement could save millions of lives.
Under the accord, poor countries will be able to import generic versions of expensive patented medicines, buying them from countries like India and Brazil without running afoul of trade laws protecting patent rights.
African countries and their supporters in nonprofit health groups have been campaigning for such an agreement for years, saying that moral and political arguments outweigh commercial considerations in the face of epidemics like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
It's about time.
Now we need to do something about access to clean water--a basic necessity for health that we take for granted, but much of the world's poor do without.
Posted by glyphic at August 30, 2003 04:28 PM